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Health & Science Literacy

The topic of Health and Science Literacy has become increasingly important in recent years, as biomedical and scientific fields have advanced to include such promises as “personalized medicine” or more targeted treatments for complicated diseases.

The Georgetown University CERSI convened an Interest Group in Health and Science Literacy to critically examine the issues relevant to health and science literacy, especially with relationship to issues of minority health and health disparities.

Among other activities, the Interest Group conducted a needs assessment and developed a framework for high-priority research and education.

The Interest Group has defined the following regulatory science questions as areas of unmet need in health and science literacy research:

How and how well are health care providers and patients informed and educated about risks and benefits of medical products?

How do patients/providers obtain and use information about the risks and benefits of medical products? Which methods are most effective, and which sources do patients/providers trust?

What is the role of social media as a trusted source of information about medical products?

What is the relationship of health literacy proficiency to health outcomes?

What is the impact of low health literacy on research participants involved in clinical trials?

What communication strategies effectively reach and convey information to underrepresented populations about risks and benefits of medical products? How are those messages crafted?

PILOT RESEARCH IN HEALTH AND SCIENCE LITERACY

The Interest Group awarded two pilot research projects to address some of these questions. In addition to questions of health and science literacy, the pilot projects focused on underrepresented patient populations (i.e., racial or ethnic subgroups, or those from low socioeconomic status, low education, non-English or non-native English speaking, or children).

Results from these research efforts will be presented at a public CERSI-sponsored event in 2015. Date and location are to be determined.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: HEALTH AND SCIENCE LITERACY LITERATURE

The Georgetown University Interest Group in Health and Science Literacy compiled a bibliography of scientific literature or relevant reports.

Due to the timeliness and rigor and in approach of relevant published systematic reviews, we did not reproduce these efforts. Together these sources include studies that address the questions outlined above as well as other issues identified by the Interest Group as relevant for study, such as: 1) the relationship of literacy proficiency to health outcomes; 2) the impact of low literacy on research participants involved in clinical trials; and 3) the role of social media as a source of health information.

A separate search was conducted to identify specific sources of information examining use of and attitudes about generic drugs among minority groups.